Table service

ABSTRACT

A table service assembly includes a food receptacle and a member presenting an animal caricature coupled thereto. The animal caricature may have a recess in its back for holding a food item; the receptacle may be a tray or a basket, but it may be otherwise. The caricature is detachably presented by the assembly and may be converted into a wheeled toy.

United States Patent 1191 Duncan Feb, 12, 1974 TABLE SERVICE [75]Inventor: Alfred D. Duncan, Elmhurst, I11.

[73] Assignee: Duncanlite Laboratory, Inc., Villa Park, 111.

[22] Filed: Dec. 28, 1970 [21] App1.No.: 101,947

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.36,879, May 13,

1970, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 220/23.86, D44/14, 46/11, 46/223, 220/69, 220/97 C [51] Int.Cl. A63h 7/00, A47g 19/00, B65d 21/02 [58] Field of Search 220/23.4,23.83, 23.86, 69, 220/97 C; 46/11, 22, 32, 103, 223; 229/25; D44/14 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1965 Duncan... 1344 14 5 1959Clarke... .220/23.83

2,813,509 11/1957 Bruno 220/69 3,154,882 11/1964 Bossiere 46/2013,224,137 12/1965 Wright.... 46/17 X 3,520,078 Klamer 46/22 487,08511/1892 Buethl .I 46/11 3,359,677 12/1967 l-lep1er.. 46/1 2,955,38210/1960 Boles 46/32 3,029,551 4/1962 Reiskin 46/32 231,034 8/1880Goessing... 229/25 1,557,218 10/1925 Royal 229 25 3,082,569 3/1963Albiani. 46/17 2,549,440 4/1951 Er ro 229 25 FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 1,207,369 2/1960 France 46/22 Primary ExaminerGeorge E.Lowrance Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lockwood, Dewey, Zickert & Alex [5 7]ABSTRACT A table service assembly includes a food receptacle and amember presenting an animal caricature coupled thereto. The animalcaricature may have a recess in its back for holding a food item; thereceptacle may be a tray or a basket, but it may be otherwise.

The caricature is detachably presented by the assembly and may beconverted into a wheeled toy.

2 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures I PATENHED 3 791,550

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'll lll a l7 IIIH I J n if kmmca PAIENIED m1 2 sumuora" Inventor A lfvedD. Duncan TABLE SERVICE This application is a continuation-in-part ofapplicationSer. No. 36,879 filed May 13, I970.

This invention relates to table service of a novelty sort, especiallyfor serving meals of the so-called fast food type. r

The present invention is primarily concerned with a novelty which may beused to promote the sale or distribution of comestibles at retail foodstores, to promote fast food service (franchised food stands orcounters) and which may be useful for table service at home or onpicnics, and the primary object of the present invention is to originatea unique form of table service which conforms tothe foregoing. Anancillary object of the present invention is to originate a form oftable service, especially suited to serving hot dogs, including a dogcaricature detachable from a tray and convertible into a wheeled toy.The service of hot dogs is emphasized only to generate a readyappreciation of how the invention may be applied to one kind of service,which is to say that other forms of animal life may be caricaturedwithin the principle of the invention, and in this connection anotherobject of the invention is to devise lunch or picnic baskets in whichthe lid is caricatured as an animal, with wheels, for conversion to atoy. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of table service constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the caricatured animal, detached from thetray and converted to a toy;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the nestable feature of the detachedanimal caricatures;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the tray with the caricature attached;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view'on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

. FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of a modified tray;

FIG. 7 is a partial elevation of the head of the caricature;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7;;

-FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view showing the caricatured animalattached to the modified tray;

FIG. 10 is a' partial sectional view substantially on the line l0-10 ofFIG. 1; t

FIGS. 11 and 12 are views of another embodiment of v the invention;

that the recess 15 may be used for other food items as well. The dog 12is viewed in a reclining attitude, .but the attitude may be otherwise.However, the reclining attitude is purposely selected for reasonsexplained below. 1

The tray 11 includes a recessed section 11A for the food and an elevatedsection 11B for the dog 12, the two sections being separated by ashoulder 11H, FIG. 4.

The underside of the dog and the top side of the tray are molded toafford interfitting plug-and-socket attachments whereby the animal maybe readily detached incidental to cleaning the service or as an incidentto converting the dog to a toy, as will hereinafter be described. Thus,the tray 11, FIG. 4 is provided with two sets of paired openings orsockets 16, and the underside of the dog, FIGS. 2 and 10, is providedwith pairs of spaced prongs or plugs 17 and 18 so spaced as to conformto the geometry of the opening 16. The prong set 17 (fore) is spacedfromthe prong set 18 (aft) by a dis tance equal to that separating the twosets of openings FIGS. 13-15 are views of still another embodiment ofthe invention; and

FIG. 16 is a view of still another embodiment of the invention.

Whilethe present invention is aptly identified as table service, in oneform of utility, it will be appreciated that the invention in practicemay not always be so used, but may be used as a premium item to promoteretail sales of hot dogs, for example, to promote fast food sales or asan item for the picnic basket.

A table service assembly conforming to the present invention isidentified in FIG. 1 by reference character 10 and includes a foodreceptable in the form of a tray 11 and a dog caricature 12 presented bya separate piece on the tray, each of inexpensive molded plastic (e.g'.high impact styrene) of sufficient rigidity to support various fooditems, including relishes, condiments, and side orders which may beserved. In any event, the caricatured dog 12 is so molded as to presentan elongated recess 15 in its back conforming generally-to the contourof a hot dog, although it will be appreciated 16, FIG. 10, suchthat theformer snap easily into the latter. Equivalent snap-on or press-fitattachments may be used.

As an additional feature of utility, and consistent with the preferencefor the dog being in a reclining attitude, the caricature may be readilyand easily converted to a toy as will be apparent in FIG. 2. Thus, thedegree of utility is enlarged by furnishing a pair of wheel and axlesets 20 and 21, FIG. 2, each being of one-piece molded form to includean axle 22 and a pair of wheels 23 molded to the ends thereof. Thedimensioning is such that when the dog is removed from the tray, theaxles 22 may be readily and easily snapped into the sockets or journalspresented by the, prongs l7 and 18, which then become journal supportsso that the axles easily rotatetherein when the animal is accelerated bya push along some suitable surface.

The caricatured animal is molded as a shell, FIG. 3, so that whendetached .from the tray one caricature can be nested in and easilystacked with another. While the wheels and axles are shown as attachedin'FlG. 3, they may be removed if desired A modified form of the tray isillustrated in FIGS. 6 and 9, and referring first to FIG. 6 the tray maybe a modified tray, 11M, having fore and aft slots 25 and 26 of adimension that will neatly receive the wheel and axle sets at theunderside of the caricatured dog, this mode of attachment being shown inpartial section in FIG. 9.

The animal, of whatever form, may be advantageously embellished bysnap-on eyes and nose or other The food receptacle may be of a formother than a serving tray and in this connection attention is directedto FIG. 11 where the receptacle is in the form of a lunch box 35 whichmay be of molded, inexpensive plastic having a lid 36 attached theretoby an integrally molded hinge strip 37. The box is typical of what maybe dispensed by a fast food service. For purposes of disclosure it isassumed that the lunch box 35 contains several hot dogs, as indicated bydashed line in FIG. 1 1, and in keeping with this idea the caricature isthat of a dog 12 of the character already shown in FIG. 2, but in thisinstance the dog sets on the lid of the receptacle. Further, andconsistent with the embodiment of the invention above described, FIG. 2,the caricatured animal 12 is provided with wheels 23', FIG. 12, fitteddetachably in corresponding openings in the lid 36.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 13 in which thefood receptacle 40 is of basket form having a lid 41 and a bail orhandle 42. In this instance, the assumption is that chicken is the fooditem intended to be served or dispensed by a fast food service, andaccordingly the caricature of a chicken 45 is integrally molded as partof the lid. Preferably the back of the chicken is provided with a recess46 for accepting relishes and the like.

The lid 41, presenting the caricatured animal, is a separate piece as inall embodiments of the invention, but the lid itself, FIG. 15, isprovided with wheel and axle sets 48 and 49 which may be precisely ofthe form shown for the caricature of the dog in FIG. 2 of thedisclosure.

FIG. 16 shows the invention as embodied in an Easter basket 50. Thehandle 51 may be fixedly attached rather than pivotally attached. Thecaricatured bunny 52 is presented by the lid 53 of the basket. The lid53 at its underside may be provided with wheel and axle sets asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 15.

It will be seen from the foregoing that under the present invention areceptacle for food includes the caricature of an animal, presented by aseparate detachable 'part of the receptacle. The detachable part may bethe caricature itself, FIGS. 2 and 11, or it may be the lid of a basketor box, FIGS. 14 and 16. In any event, the detachable part presentingthe caricature is equipped with wheels so that the animal may be used asa toy and hence many variations are possible.

I claim:

l. A table service assembly comprising a tray and a food serving and toydevice, said tray being relatively flat and including a shallow recessedsection adapted to receive food or the like, and a platform sectionslightly elevated from the recessed section, said platform sectionhaving a plurality of sockets formed therealong,

said food serving and toy device including an elongated body in the formof an animal caricature having a dishshaped recess in the top of thebody extending longitudinally thereof along the back of the animalcaricature adapted for receiving and serving food or the like, and aplurality of prong sets projecting from the underside of the body andreceiving in snap-fit relation a plurality of wheel and axle units, allof which are received in the sockets on the platform section of the traywherein the body of the device otherwise bottoms flushly on the platformsection of the tray but may be removed therefrom so that the device maybe used as a wheel supported toy after it-has functioned to hold andserve food, wherein said wheel and axle units in mounted position on theprong sets coact with the sockets to prevent relative sliding movementbetween said device and said tray.

2. The table service assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein the deviceis further characterized in that it is shaped to be nestable.

1. A table service assembly comprising a tray and a food serving and toydevice, said tray being relatively flat and including a shallow recessedsection adapted to receive food or the like and a platform sectionslightly elevated from the recessed section, said platform sectionhaving a plurality of sockets formed therealong, said food serving andtoy device including an elongated body in the form of an animalcaricature having a dishshaped recess in the top of the body extendinglongitudinally thereof along the back of the animal caricature adaptedfor receiving and serving food or the like, and a plurality of prongsets projecting from the underside of the body and receiving in snap-fitrelation a plurality of wheel and axle units, all of which are receivedin the sockets on the platform section of the tray wherein the body ofthe device otherwise bottoms flushly on the platform section of the traybut may be removed therefrom so that the device may be used as a wheelsupported toy after it has functioned to hold and serve food, whereinsaid wheel and axle units in mounted position on the prong sets coactwith the sockets to prevent relative sliding movement between saiddevice and said tray.
 2. The table service assembly as defined in claim1, wherein the device is further characterized in that it is shaped tobe nestable.